Cops Corner: Sarasota

Jan. 28
Don’t encourage them
3:15 p.m. — 1500 block of Fruitville Road. Graffiti. Police planned to remove a large swath of graffiti that had been sprayed on the southeast corner of a building, before the display encouraged more graffiti.

Check’s in the mail — maybe
4:15 p.m. — 2000 block of Ringling Boulevard. Police Assistance. A woman told police she and her son had been evicted a couple days earlier and were waiting for a check from her friend. She planned to use the money to find a new place to live. She was transported to the Salvation Army, so she could stay there until the check arrived.

Jan. 29
Where there’s smoke ….
10:29 a.m. — 800 block of South Tamiami Trail. Suspicious Person. Police pulled over a man matching the description of a burglar in a crime that had just occurred. A strong odor of marijuana emanated from the man’s vehicle, officers said. The man admitted to having smoked marijuana and driving with a suspended driver’s license. He maintained that neither he nor his friends were involved in the burglary, nonetheless.

Hiding in plain sight
5:45 p.m. — 3700 block of North Tamiami Trail. Shoplifting. Police found a man, who had been accused of stealing several items from a dollar store, was hiding behind the store. A witness on the scene told police he had seen the man leaving the store, then walking behind it. There, the witness said, the man began pulling items out of his pants. The man admitted to stealing more than $75 worth of merchandise from two stores, because “it was hard times.” Officers arrested him.

Jan. 30
‘Did I say I needed help?’
2 p.m. — 1400 block of First Street. Disorderly Intoxication. Police located a man who, they reported, “was too drunk to care for himself.” They took him to a facility where he could receive appropriate care.

On my way out now
2:10 p.m. — 2200 block of Ringling Boulevard. Family Dispute. A man accused of creating a disturbance in a restaurant fled through the back of the establishment before police officers arrived.

Stereo story has holes
6:38 p.m. — 1700 block of Morrill Street. Dispute. A man told police that he had let a neighbor borrow his stereo over the holidays, but she had slammed the door in his face when he went over to retrieve it. The woman told police she didn’t have his stereo, and a search of the home, with her consent, confirmed her statement.

Attention, please
6:52 p.m. — 1300 block of Boulevard of the Arts. Suspicious Circumstance. A crisis-center hotline representative called police after a man phoned the hotline and threatened to “walk away from everything.” Police went to the man’s condominium complex, where the security guard told them the man seemed fine when he left minutes earlier. The guard added that the man could be “quite dramatic” at times.

Jan. 31
‘Celebrate good times’
1:22 a.m. — 1500 block of Seventh Street. Suspicious Noise. A man told police the excessively loud noise reported coming from his place had resulted from a party for his birthday. The festivities were breaking up, he added, and he promised he would party more quietly the rest of the night.

My mistake
9:27 a.m. — 5000 block of Barrington Circle. 911 Call. A woman told police she must have accidentally hit the panic button in her home.

Anger mismanagement
6:33 p.m. — 2200 block of Ringling Boulevard. Suspicious Circumstance. A man in a brown trench coat was reportedly yelling obscenities at motorists and himself, as well.

Feb. 1
Not hanging tightly
1:50 a.m. — 2500 block of Central Avenue. Open Doors. Police discovered the rear door to an abandoned house was open, broken and impossible to secure. Police made plans to repair the door and keep the building locked up.

Bicycle built for two
2:03 p.m. — 1700 block of Seventh Street. Dispute. A man told police he had become engaged in an argument with a man named Ed over a bicycle, but they had managed to work out an agreement for sharing the bike.

Some follow-up needed
3:40 p.m. — 1700 block of 17th Street. Dispute. A woman reported her husband had violated a restraining order by texting her twice and calling her cell phone. Police couldn’t locate a valid order with the Sarasota County Clerk of the Court, so they urged her to confirm her order and validate its case numbers.

Caught in the act
6:40 p.m. — 1300 block of South Tamiami Trail. Shoplifting. Loss prevention officers at a grocery store confronted a man in the parking lot and brought him back inside, where he admitted to having stolen 11 items totaling $68.51. He was trespassed from the site, arrested and taken to jail.

She’s outta there
8:22 p.m. — 2200 block of North Osprey Avenue. Dispute. A man told police he wanted a woman who had become loud and threatening to his poker-playing buddies to leave for the night. She agreed to leave immediately.